Improvement in sofa-beds



2 sheets-sheet 2. A. HANSENt l VSofa, Bed. l No. 202,108.l Almemecl Aprilgyiss..

Witnesses Inventor @mi @MC/@mw NV PETERS, PHOTO-UTHOGRAPHEH. WASHINGTON. D C

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

AUGUST HANSEN, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.-

IMPROVEMENT IN SOFA-BEDS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 202,108, dated April 9, 1878; application filed January 14, 1878.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, AUGUST HANSEN, of

the city and county of San Francisco, and State of California, have invented a Sofa- Bed; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

. My invention relates to certain improvements in that class of beds having a hinged seat and back, which unfold in opposite directions from the main portion of the sofa, so as to form a bed, having its length transversely to the direction ofthe seat.

The back is peculiarly constructed, so that when folded up to form the sofa it maintains itself in position and forms a strong brace. The arms or ends of the sofa are fitted into reversible pieces to receive the upholstery and these may be turned over, so as to prevent the upholstery from touching the floor when opened, as shown in my former patent of February 6, 1877.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view of my sofa closed. Fig. 2 shows the device opened out to form a bed.

A is the body of the sofa or lounge, having the usual legs B; and C is the folding top, which is hinged tothe front of the part A, in the ordinary manner of this class of articles, so as to be opened out and rest upon legs D, which form, when closed, a part of the ornamentation of the sofa-back; or it may be supported upon the arms E, in which case they are provided with hinged pieces for receiving the upholstery, and these pieces are made to turn over when the part C is opened out, so as to protect this upholstering from touching the iioor, as Vdescribed in my former patent.

The back consists of two parts. The part F is hinged at the bottom to the back of the body A, and extends upward nearly as high as the Vtrue back G, which is hinged to its top, as shown. The tops of the posts F are beveled, and this part opens so as to lie horizontally in a plane with the remainder of the bed-bottom. The back G is thus turned about its hinges upon F, s'o as to be reversed in position, and is supported by the beveled posttops, so as to stand at an incline and form a pillow, as shown in Fig. 2.

The portion F is supported, when opened out, by legs H, which may be folded against the sides of the posts, and will be concealed by the back-frame G when the sofa is closed up.

In order to retain the back in its vertical position when it is closed to form the sofa, I have formed the lower parts of the end posts I with an extended base.

The rails J of the frame A extend out be- I hind, so that the posts I may be pushed back after folding up, and their rear corners will rest upon these extensions, so as to form a brace and prevent the back from being folded down. In order to open this back it will only be necessary to draw the bottom of the back G far enough forward to allow the part F to be turned down about its hinges, when the part G can also be turned over about its hinges.

In some cases it may be found desirable to leave the back in its normal position, and make the bed by opening only the front part of the sofa, in which case one of the arms E will be constructed with a web, K, secured to the inner part and rolled or folded, s0 as to be concealed by the sofa-arm when in its 'usual position; but when it is to be used as 'a bed the arm is turned back, and the web may then be unrolled or unfolded, so as to extend entirely across both parts of the bed-bottom, and the post L may then be fixed in an opening which is made to receive it on the outer edge of the part C. This web then serves as a pillow. f

The principal use of my hed will, however, Abe in the manner first described-that is, transversely to the length of the seat; and its points of value are, that I am enabled to upholster the bed-bottoms, so that there will be none of the prominent ridges which appear in bed-lounges made in the ordinary manner; and, also, that I am enabled to -use one single piece of ticking, to extend from end to endof the bed; and, lastly, that the bed may be made of full size, with any length desired, without exaggerating any of the proportions of the sofa.

Having thusdesoribed my inventiomwhat I tiallyr as and for the purpose herein deolaim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-

The back G hinged to the part F and having the posts I, with an extended base, in combination with the extension J, by which the posts are supported and braced, substanscribed. v

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand. v

Witnesses: AUGUST HANSEN.

FRANK A. BROOKS, WALTER C. BEATIE. 

